Evaluation of undergraduate Logistics & Transportation Management curriculum change from traditional lecturing to student-centered Problem-Based Learning (PBL) active learning environment

Abstract

Problem This paper presents the outcomes of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology implementation in the undergraduate Logistics & Transportation (L&T) Management course at the Federal University of Itajuba (UNIFEI), Brazil. The research explores a curriculum change evaluation by using Survey data from two stages, in two semesters of the L&T course, with different PBL scenarios and students. L&T course addressed several concepts of Logistics Management and the PBL approach enpowered students to self-learning, citical thinking, social and process skills. It was demonstrated that the majority of the students, over 91%, appreciated the benefits of PBL based curriculum in both semesters, with positive evaluation in all course dimensions. To support the conclusions of the study, special attention was given to the development of the questionnaires. The first stage, the pilot questionnaire, had a set of 21 scaled and structured questions, covering the course concepts and learning objectives. The second stage questionnaire was redesigned to a new set of 15 questions, modeled to three constructs by Factor Analysis, keeping up with the reliability and validity requirements.